Restless
by Hawthornes
Summary: Babysitting Damon. That's what Bonnie's life had amounted to. She had wanted to go to college, get an education, get married, have children, and actually do something important with her like, but no. There was no time for that.
1. Needs and Confusion

Babysitting Damon. That's what Bonnie's life had amounted to. She had wanted to go to college, get an education, get married, have children, and actually do something important with her like, but no. There was no time for that. There was never any time for Bonnie to think about herself. She had to clean up after Damon. She had to listen to his problems. She had to do what everyone else refused to do. If you had asked her a few years ago if she ever saw herself helping Damon, she would have laughed. But now that's all she seemed to do.

It was the guilt that got her. She wouldn't do it, and sometimes she thought about stopping, but the guilt ate away at her. The guilt wouldn't let her leave. She was the reason that Damon was like this now. She had taken away everything that meant anything to him. It was her fault Elena and Stefan were dead. It was her fault that Damon had been sunk in a daze of anger and depression for the last two years. So, she had to stay with him. Even though they didn't like each other now any more than they did before, she couldn't leave him alone.

If Damon was alone, God only knows what he would do. Some nights he would go out, and not come back until late the next day, and the on the news later, Bonnie would see about how people were murdered. There were some times when Bonnie would ask him why he did it, but he never remembered when he did. Eventually she just stopped asking him, but that didn't mean that he didn't do it. After the murders would get too large, they would pack up and move to another town. Suspicious, but if they stayed, Damon would probably kill the whole town.

She wanted to stop him, she really did, but she couldn't. She couldn't kill him. She already had too much blood on her hands. Everyone's blood was on her hands; she couldn't have Damon's there too. In a lot of ways, he was driving her toward insanity, but in others, he was the only thing keeping her from it. She didn't even pretend to understand half of the things she did and why she did them. If Bonnie thought about it too much, she would just end up with a headache and no explanation. All she knew was that Damon was alive, and she intended to keep it that way. Even though she knew sometimes it would be better if he were gone, and even though there were times when he begged her to end his life because he couldn't take the pain any longer, she'd been selfish in the way that she couldn't let him go.

She hated herself for that. Well, she hated herself for a lot of things, but that was one of the reasons. Mostly, she hated herself because it was her fault that everyone was dead. She was sure that Damon thought the same thing, but he didn't know the whole truth. He only knew what she had told him, and she hadn't told him everything. He knew that she had been holding out on him, and at first he tried to get her to talk, but eventually he backed off. Bonnie sometimes wondered if she would ever talk about what really happened. She didn't even like to think about it. She knew that if she told Damon, he'd hate her. Might even kill her. There had been a time where she had entertained that idea, but it didn't last long.

Damon wouldn't kill her because, like she needed him to keep her sane, he needed her to do the same. But, she knew that he wasn't really sane right now. He was barely living. He drank every day to the point where he was drunk, which was a lot for a vampire. He killed people and rarely remembered doing it. There were times when he would just sit on the couch for hours and stare at absolutely nothing. Bonnie would sometimes try to bring him out of that bad place he went to, but it never seemed to work, so she just let him be.

Even though he didn't need her to keep him sane, didn't mean that he didn't need her. He needed her to protect him from the police when they began to notice the strange, distant man that moved into town when the murders started. He needed her to go searching for him only to find him passed out somewhere and drag him back. He needed her because without her he'd be completely alone, and she knew that he could never take that. So, he couldn't kill her. Bonnie knew that. She couldn't kill him, he couldn't kill her, they could barely stand each other, but they needed each other. So they struggled through life together because it was easier than doing it alone.

Now, Bonnie sat with a book propped on her knees. Time to time, she would glance up at Damon to see if he'd come out of his dark place, but it didn't seem like he was coming out any time soon. She sighed heavily. Loneliness was something that she was used to. A person would think that those episodes would dwindle after time, but they hadn't. In fact, they seemed like they were getting worse. More and more frequent. There was nothing she could do about it, of course. She had tried so many things, but only Damon could bring Damon out of that place he went to. And he took his time doing that.

She was suddenly very tired. Being alone made her tired. Tired and sad, but the sad had passed in the first year, so now she was usually just tired. She glanced at the vampire who was staring at the wall with an angry expression. "Damon?" She tried, knowing that her attempts were futile. Bonnie waited some time for a response, but she didn't get anything but a heavy silence. The witch closed her book and sat it on the end table. She looked at Damon again. "I'm going to bed." She said, waiting another beat before she stood, and stalked out of the room.

This house was very small. It just had two bedrooms and one tiny bathroom. There was a living room, with a conjoining kitchen. That was it, though. There was nothing special about this house. Of course, there wasn't anything special about any of the houses they'd occupied over the years. Bonnie earned a meager living from working odd jobs here and there, and Damon only brought in what he stole, which was never much. So, they could never afford anything fancy. When she went to bed freezing on uncomfortable beds, she would wish for her bed back in Mystic Falls. For her house. Or even for the Boarding House. Anywhere but where they were.

But she knew that she could never go back. Damon could never go back. If there was anything to go back to now. When they left, the town was in ruins from the battle. She had heard rumors about the people rebuilding things, but she wasn't sure if those were true or not. That wasn't the only reason that they couldn't go back. Even is the town was back to normal, that would just hide the physical damage. There would be nothing to hide the emotional and mental damaged that both Bonnie and Damon gained from what happened there. It would be so raw, and neither of they could do it. She doubted that they'd ever be able to do it.

Bonnie wiped some dust off of the bathroom mirror, and stared at her reflection. She looks sad, she looked broken, and she looked hopeless. Most of all, though, she looked old. She looked like she had aged a hundred years since the final battle, when really it was just three years ago. There were worry lines on her forehead, and around her mouth. There were bags under her eyes from how little sleep she got. She had never been really, really beautiful like Elena and Caroline, but she had always been a pretty girl. Now, that seemed to have all faded.

She didn't look twenty. She looked forty. She was no longer a pretty, innocent girl who hadn't seen enough of the world; she was a broken, weathered woman who had seen too much of it. The worst of it was her eyes. Her eyes looked so tired, and so sad. They had faded from a green to a brown. They contained so much hatred, and resentment. But also so much sadness, and depression. There was no trace of life anywhere in her face. Actually, there was no trace of life anywhere in her body. She was limp, lifeless, like a corpse except so much worse because corpses didn't have to live, and she did.

The witch tore her gaze away from herself. She couldn't do this to herself. She could stand there all night and contemplate how old and ugly she looked, which she had done before, but that would not do her any good now. She had to work tomorrow, and she needed her rest. Bonnie pushed the tears out of her eyes. That wouldn't do her any good either. If she started crying, she would never stop. She had found that out on more than one occasion. Quickly, she scrubbed her face, brushed her teeth, and pulled her hair out of her face. _Don't think about it, don't think about it, don't think about it. _She repeated over and over to herself as she went into her bedroom.

About halfway there, she noticed Damon standing in front of her door. He looked at her, and his face consorted into a look of uncertainty. She stopped in her tracks. She had seen that look before, and it could mean one of two things. One, he was confused as to where he was, or two, he was confused as to who she was. There was one time where he didn't recognizing her, and he had almost bit her. She had managed to make him remember before he did, though. More often than not, it was the first one, but it was better to be safe than sorry. So, she kept her distance from him just in case.

"Damon…" She ventured carefully.

He blinked twice, but she could see recognition crossed his face. "Bonnie." He said, and then pursed his lips. At least he knew who she was. "What…." He began to say something, but then he trailed off. His too-blue eyes seemed to look right through her. "Where's Stefan? And Elena?" Damon's voice wasn't strong. It was weak and hoarse, and held a tone of cold dread.

This had happened once or twice. The first time, she had told him that they were dead, but that upset him. He got really angry at her, and shouted obscenities at her; something that the Damon before wouldn't have done, but he was very different than before. He then left for three exhausting days in which Bonnie spent every hour trying to find him. She had found him in an abandoned house, starving and disoriented. Slowly, she got him to come back to her, but it was a tiring process. She did not want a repeat of that. "They went out."

He thought about this for a long time before he nodded. Then, in a trance like state, he walked past her and to his own bedroom. She stared after him for a moment, but then went into her bedroom, and crawled into the creaky bed. Sleep didn't come easily. It never seemed to these days. When sleep did come, it was nightmares of violent noises and distorted images. There were no real shapes, or no real voices. Nothing really made sense. But they were frightening, all in the same. They sometimes woke her up. They usually always came. Bonnie couldn't actually remember the last time she had slept without a nightmare.

Slowly, she drifted into a light, and restless sleep that was filled with the usual horrific images and dark noises.


	2. Affects of the Darkness

He was a psychopath, he knew that. He also knew that he had gone insane, and his insanity just kept getting worse. A person would think that after years, it would start to get better, but that wasn't the case with Damon. It seemed that as the days went by, he just kept spiraling downward. The only thing that kept him from hitting rock bottom was Bonnie. That stupid little witch who wouldn't leave him alone. A distant part of his brain knew that he should have been thankful for her, but he just couldn't. He knew that she had saved his ass on more than one occasion, and she just kept doing it.

She would bring him back from drunken nights when he was passed out in a ditch. She would keep him safe when the police began to get too suspicious. She did so much for him, but Damon could never bring himself to be grateful to her. He kept feeling like she was trying to babysit him. He didn't need a babysitter. He was almost two hundred years old. So, he held a tone of resentment toward the little witch. Because he knew that she was holding out on him with what happened at the final battle. But, he'd be lying if he said that they didn't have their good moments. Neither of them liked one another two much, but they had been living together for the last three years, and they did have good times.

It was usually just after Damon would drag himself out of his dark place, when he was still a bit disoriented. Bonnie would usually be close by after, and he'd be somewhat glad for her presence. He hated being alone after. Because the place he went to, he was always alone there. He was alone, and it would be dark, and he hated it. So, a familiar person nearby afterwards was comforting. Not that he'd ever admit that to her. She probably knew that, though, or at least she sensed it. She was very good when it came to knowing when to leave him alone, and when to stay close. Spending three years together does have its benefits.

Something he would never got used to, or like, was that she was still very judgmental of him and his actions. She didn't say as much these days, but he could see it in those faded eyes. He knew that what he did was wrong, but he never realized until after. He could never remember killing people, but apparently he did. It was liked he would black out. Bonnie didn't believe him so much at first, but then she eventually backed off. Still, she would shake her head when she watched the news. She would look away. The witch wasn't happy about what he did, but he never tried to justify his actions to her. Mainly because he didn't know why he did it, but also because it was none of her business. What he did was his business, and his alone.

Sometimes he thought he'd like to talk to her. He'd like to talk to her about what was going on in his head, because there were very dark thoughts in there. Thoughts of murder and suicide, and how he should be punished for failing Elena. Thoughts of what a horrible person he was for letting his brother die. These thoughts came every day. He would try to drown them with alcohol, but that never did help much. All that did was numb the pain of the losses that neither he nor Bonnie really dealt with, and the numbing never lasted long, so it wasn't really worth the headache that he got after. There were times when he thought he should tell her about those thoughts, but he couldn't bring himself too. He didn't need her pitying him any more than she already did.

Damon wasn't always sure why he let her stick around. If he wanted to leave and not have her find him, then he could do that. But, is that what he really wanted? No, he didn't. Well, maybe sometimes it was what he wanted, but it was never what he needed. What he needed was Bonnie. He needed someone around that understood somewhat of the pain he was feeling. He needed someone that he knew. It was hard to explain, and mostly he didn't think about it. All he knew was that he needed her around because she was Bonnie, and he never tried to look any further than that.

Now, the two of them were sitting in their shabby living room. Bonnie was reading, and he was drinking. That's all the two of them seemed to do. When she got home from whatever useless job she was working now, she would read. And when he got home from whatever mayhem he was causing that day, he would drink. They would sit together and barely speak. There were never needed words. Every now and again, Bonnie would ask him a question, just to see if he was still with her. Then she would go back to her book, and they would be swallowed in silence again. He barely started their conversations. He never thought there was anything to say, but now was different. Now, it was too quiet, and he could feel himself slipping.

"Do you think they're happy?" He asked in a small voice.

Bonnie looked up at him and blinked three times. She seemed confused by the question for a long time, but eventually she answered. "Yeah, Damon." Her mouth was set into a grim line. "I'm sure they're very happy." Her eyes looked him up and down, and he could practically see the wheels in her head turning. She was trying to figure out what was wrong with him. She was curious because he hardly talked about them. No, he never talked about them. Neither of them did. It was just too painful.

"I bet she's an angel." He said, mostly to himself.

Of course, Bonnie knew who he was referring to. "Elena with wings." She laughed lightly- a sound that was so rare around there. "She'd be even more beautiful. All the other angels would be bowing at her feet."

He felt a smile creep its way onto his lips as he thought of Elena as an angel. Bonnie was right. She'd be even more beautiful. She'd shine even brighter. He never thought something like that would be possible, but if she was an angel, then it would be. Smiling was so odd since he hadn't done it in such a long time, but his face was twisted into a full grin now. "Caroline would be jealous."

She laughed again. "Stefan would be irritated." She added, and when he looked over at her, he noticed that she was smiling too. When was the last time that either of them had smiled, or laughed? Long before the final battle, that was for sure. Every smile after that would have been forced; it wouldn't have been easily like it was now.

But, he knew it wouldn't last long. After Bonnie's voice faded, silence cut between them again. And silence was never a good thing. The silence brought the pain of missing his brother, Elena, Alaric, and God, even Caroline. None of them had made it out of Mystic Falls alive. None of them had stayed with him. They had all left him alone. They left him alone with Bonnie of all people. But, every one of them had gone down fighting. None of them had backed down in fear. They were true heroes. Damon had saw Stefan go down, and even though it haunted him every night, he saw him go down fighting. He fought with a sword like a prince. He fought the darkness, and even though he lost, he won in a way. He had stopped the darkness from spreading. They all did.

His chest ached as he thought about the final battle. He watched his brother go down. He hadn't seen Elena one last time, and part of his regretted it, but part of him was glad. What would his nightmares be like if he saw Elena die every night? They would be worse. He would be worse. He had seen a lot of people die, Stefan, Sherriff Forbes, Tyler Lockwood, that Original that he didn't know so well- Kol. The darkness killed them all. Damon knew it. Bonnie knew it. Neither of them talked about it because there was no way to explain it. The darkness had taken most of the town. It made no sense, he had nightmares from it, he saw it every day, and it lurked in the back of his mind. The darkness, that is. And even though that she didn't talk about it, he knew that it had affected Bonnie too. He couldn't say anything about anyone else that lived, but he knew about him and Bonnie.

Damon stole a sideways glance at the witch now. She was sitting rather stiffly, with her lips pressed closed, and her eyes fixed on the darkness outside of the window. He looked at her up and down. She looked so small and frail; so much more than she had before. She had always been just a slip of a girl, but her presence made her seem larger than life. Now, though, that was all difference. She had lost so much weight, her cheeks were sunk in, her eyes were hallowed, nothing about her seemed like it held life. She cowered, and some part of her always seemed to be shaking. Despite being so strong still, she was so weak. It had taken the life from her- from both of them. The only difference was, Damon knew what was happening to him, and though a distant part of Bonnie might have known, she never acknowledged it.

Tears. Tears were streaming down the witch's face. Her face showed no emotion, though. It rarely did. Neither of them showed much emotion. Damon sighed inwardly, and turned his face to look at the wall. He should have said something, should have comforted her, but he didn't. There was nothing he could say to make her friends come back. There was nothing no one could say that would make the pain go away. They were both doomed to go through this life. But, eventually she would die. She was just human, after all. His jaw clenched, and an ache formed in his chest at the thought. _Eventually she would leave him like everyone else did. _He would be alone, and he would be that way forever.

The thought of Bonnie dying was nearly unbearable. It wasn't because he liked her – because he didn't, it was just because he didn't want to be alone. He needed someone. He would fall right off of his rocker if he was alone. He would become a full-blown monster. There would be nothing good left in him once she died. In a sense, she was the only thing that was keeping him grounded. Without her, he would fall into the pit of darkness and despair. It was a place that he could sense he was going towards, and he didn't like it at all. Bonnie was a light, though a very dim one, in this place that had to be Hell. They never did anything to try to help one another, they never did anything to try to make one another like each other, and they barely even talked. But they lived together, they shared a comfortable silence, content that neither of them had to be alone.


	3. Black Shadowed Dreams

Bonnie opened the door, and walked into the kitchen. She dropped her keys onto the counter. The witch poured herself a drink when she finally realized something was missing. She blew air out of her mouth, and her eyes scanned the living room for her housemate. "Damon?" She called, as she made her way toward his bedroom, but she knew he wasn't there. Pushing open his door, she sighed, and closed the door. He wasn't here. He could have been gone all day. She wondered who his victims were this time. The girl at the market? The bartender? One of the women from the town? Bonnie tried her best not to interact with anyone because they could very well be dead the next day. But, it was nearly impossible not to talk to anyone, so what she did was just not get to know anyone because if she didn't know them, she couldn't get attached to them, and if she couldn't get attached to them, then she wouldn't miss them if Damon killed them.

It was a lonely life, but she didn't have another choice. She had Damon, but he was never much company, and he didn't matter if he was. They weren't friends. They never were friends, and they never would be friends. They were just… well; she didn't really know what they were. They were Bonnie and Damon. They were just two people who were thrown together by unusual circumstances. Two people who needed each other for reasons that neither of them could fathom. Bonnie flopped down on the couch, and pinched the bridge of her nose. All of this thinking was giving her a headache. Damon was giving her a headache. Of course, he always gave her a headache. It was nothing new. He killed. She tried to overlook it, but really, it bothered her. Bonnie glanced at the clock.

One hour. She would give Damon one hour to come home, and then she would go out and look for him. Like she always did. The girl closed her eyes, and settled herself onto the couch. She could take a quick nap before she went out. She was exhausted, after all. It had been a long day at work. It had been a long day in general. She was a waitress at a bar, which wasn't exactly the best and easiest job in the word. She had spilt beer all over herself twice. There were pigs who tried to make passes at her. Sexual harassment was a given in a place like the dank and dirty bar that was always filled with truck drivers and drug dealers. She wondered why she put up with it. She could have done something amazing with her life.

She could be in school, learning how to be a doctor right now. She could be on her way to becoming someone important. Instead, she was just a sad girl who dedicated her life to babysitting a sadistic, homicidal vampire. If she could stop, she would do it in a heartbeat. There would be no hesitating. She would leave Damon and go on to be the great person her father always told her who she would be. But, he was dead, and she had made a promise. And Bonnie Bennett did not go back on promises. Taking care of Damon was something she had to do. She owed it to Elena. To Stefan. To all of those people who could be dead if she had left him alone. Sure, he killed a lot of people with her around, but there could be so many more. This was the price a protector like herself had to pay.

Slowly, she drifted into a light sleep.

_Darkness was surrounding her. Tendrils of it were climbing up her legs, wrapping around her waist, slowly making its way to her face. She tried to scream. She tried to move. It was impossible to do either. The blackness was crawling into her mouth and nose, making it hard to breathe. It was squeezing her. Squeezing the life from her frail body. Pain was filling her every cell. It was drowning her. The darkness and the pain were working together to kill her. She wanted to cry. She wanted to cry for help; for Damon because he could get it off of her, but the darkness was filling her lungs. The thing, it was crawling into her ears, and tears streamed down her face. It was everywhere. _

_It was in her. It was moving around inside of her body, she could feel it. She could feel it squirming through her arms and abdomen. Through her heart. But, no. It wasn't just there. It was in her brain. She knew what it was doing, too. It was learning everything she knew. It was examining every inch of her brain, and unlocking every secret she had kept buried away. For a moment, she wondered why she wasn't dead. The thing was drawing every bit of life from her, yet she was still alive. She couldn't breathe, yet she wasn't dying. It made no sense. Of course, darkness that crawled into someone's brain didn't exactly make sense either. _

_Bonnie felt hot tears streaming down her face. The thing that inside of her was hot and cold at the same time. It burnt every bit of blood, and then froze it. She wanted it to stop. The pain. The suffering. She wanted the thing that was squirming around on her insides to get out of her. She wanted it to be light years away from her. But it wasn't. It was on it, in her, and she knew it had no intention of ever leaving her be. Bonnie tried to move, but the thing was binding, like a boa constrictor. Again, she tried to scream, but it still wasn't working. Nothing was working. It felt as if she were slipping out of her own body. Like she were slipping out of control. She was losing control of herself, and the darkness was gaining it. It was invading every part of her brain, making her its puppet. _

_She was completely lost now. It had her. It was her master, and she was its servant. The darkness controlled her. She was a guest in her own body. The thing made her reach forward, and the shadows faded from her eyes, allowing her to see. When she saw what was in front of her, she wished for the cover of the darkness again. She wished that she could scream and run away, but she couldn't. So, she just stared. She stared at her friends hanging from gallows. Elena, Stefan, Caroline, Matt, and Tyler were all looking at her with dead eyes. There was no life left in them. Blood was pouring from where the ropes were cutting into their necks. But, that wasn't the worse part. They were smiling. Evil smiles all pointed toward her. And there were tendrils of darkness curling up their legs. _

_No. The darkness was going to take control of them like it had taken control of her. Except that they were dead, so there was no chance of them even trying to fight back. Their bodies were empty. They made the perfect hosts, especially if the darkness wanted to unhinge her. Bonnie felt the urge to scream again as the black shadows dug their way into her friend's eyes, ears, noses, and mouths. Soon they would have control of the bodies. And then, what would they do? Would they try and kill her? That would actually be a relief. She could be free of this feeling of not being welcome in her own body. She could move on to the other place were her friends really were. Where their souls were, and not just their bodies. _

_One by one, she watched as they moved. Their arms reached up and snapped the ropes free. One by one, they crashed to the ground. For the longest time, they just lay there, and Bonnie hoped that something had failed. But then Stefan lifted his head, and turned those still dead eyes at her. He stood, and she could hear bones crack. They all looked like old, arthritic men when they stood. Bones were cracking, and their limbs hung at awkward angles. Before she knew it, they were moving toward her. Slowly. Oh so slowly. Almost like zombies. What was going to happen? Bonnie wanted to brace herself to flee, but she still couldn't. She could only watch in horror as they moved closer and closer. _

_Just when she thought they were going to take a swing, they lowered onto one knee in a bow. She was bewildered. Why were they bowing to her? She was only so much more confused. She only wished that much more that she could move. But, then there was a hand on her shoulder. If she had control of herself, a chill would've went up her spine. The darkness made her turn, and Bonnie wanted to gasp. Damon was standing there. His eyes were black orbs, and a wicked grin crossed his face as their eyes locked. Damon was here. What was he doing? Was it even Damon? As she looked closer, she saw that it wasn't him. The darkness had taken over him too. That would be why his eyes were black. _

"_My Queen." He said in a low, seductive tone. "I hope you like your presents." He motioned toward her dead friends. Damon then took his hand, and caressed her cheek. _

_The thing made her lean into his touch. "I do, my King. Thank you." She could feel herself smile. _

"_That's all I get?" He asked, pouting a little. "I go to great lengths to get you such lovely and loyal servants, and all I get is 'thank you'?" _

_Her lips twisted into a seductive grin, and she turned to face him. The thing made her slip her arms around her neck, and press her body into his. The not-really-Damon Damon put its hands on her hips, and brought his lips to her neck. She purred, and leaned her head back to allow him more access. The part of Bonnie's mind that she still had control over was whirling. _Scream_, she ordered herself. _Run_. _Do something. _ But, she couldn't. She couldn't do anything but watch in horror as the thing made her do things that she otherwise wouldn't even think of. Things that she might think of, but never with Damon. Because he was Damon, and that was just…wrong. _

_His fangs were biting into her neck. Never, ever in her life had she felt such pleasure. She had been bitten before; she had been bitten by Damon before, but it did not feel like this. Nothing she had been through in her entire life had something felt this well. Bonnie felt herself pressing closer into his body, and she could hear a moan pass her lips. She never wanted it to end. She didn't know if that was her feeling it, or if that was the darkness inside of her. She could remember the pain from the first time, and how she wished he would kill her, but that wasn't the case this time. She wanted… she wanted something else. Something she never thought she would want from Damon. He lifted his face from her neck and without a second thought, Bonnie brought her lips to his. _

She trashed, and the world came rushing back to her. Strong hands were gripping her shoulders. When she opened her eyes, her world was blue. Ice blue. Damon was leaning over here, his face inches from hers. A worry line was creasing his forehead. Since she was still half in the dream land, Bonnie brought her hands up and started scratching at his face. Despite her wild eyes and heavy breathing, she had caught him off guard. Bonnie had got two good swipes in before he caught her hands in his. "Bonnie, Bonnie, it's just me." He said, trying to calm her. "Sh, Bonnie, it was a dream. A bad dream."

The witch whimpered, and fell back onto the couch.


	4. An Understanding and a Connection

**A/N: Hi, guys! I hope you're liking the story so far! I just wanted to tell y'all that I have not given up on **_**Invasion. **_**I've just lost inspiration for it right now, but as soon as I get some, I will give you a new chapter! I just don't want you guys to be mad because I'm taking a break with it! It is not over yet! Anyway, what do you think of **_**Restless**_** so far? Do you like it? What do you think? I'd love to hear your thoughts so far! And I'd like to thank those of you who have taken the time to review already. **

**To those of you who haven't: review, review, review! **

Bonnie was still shaking. She was holding a glass of water in her hands, and her eyes were tainted on the wall. Damon was sitting in the chair that she usually occupied, watching her with interest. The witch was still frightened from the dream. It had been so real. The feelings she felt were so real. She had never had a dream like that before, and she never wanted to go through it again. There had been bad nightmares since the final battle, and even before that, but never like this. Another whimper past her lips. She sat the glass of water down on the coffee table. She couldn't hold in any more. She was shaking too bad. Nothing was good. She was still having a hard time getting a grip on reality. She felt like she could be pulled back in that hell at any moment.

Damon hadn't said anything since he woke her up. He got her a glass of water, and perched himself on the chair, watching her. He watched her as she tried to control herself, and keep a hold on the real world. He watched her to make sure that she wasn't going to slip again because she knew that he could sense her edginess. There were no words he had to speak. Bonnie didn't want him to talk to her; not after what just happened in that dream. She could barely look at him. The usual comfortable, understanding silence that held them had turned awkward and difficult. She shifted in her seat, and looked down at her hands. She didn't like sitting here with him, but she didn't want him to leave because she didn't want to be alone.

She knew that the moment he left her alone, she would drop. The darkness would grab ahold of the real her. She didn't want to think what would happen after that. Bonnie closed her eyes, but then opened them, unable to handle the endless black behind her closed lids. In fact, even when her eyes were open it was too dark. It had to be past midnight, which meant that she had slept longer than she planned. At least Damon had found his way home. Bonnie put her head in her hands, and the candles that she had spread around the living room flickered with bright fire. It made it somewhat better, but not completely. Nothing would ever be alright again. Of course, nothing had been right since the final battle. This just made it worse.

"Don't leave." She whispered under her breath as she heard Damon shift. She didn't need to look up to know that he was looking at her. She could feel the heat of his gaze weighing down on her. It reminded her how the Damon from her dreams looked at her, but not exactly. That Damon was looking at her like she was something to eat, this one was looking at her with curiosity as if she was some type of experiment. But still, they both looked at her with pressure, as if they were trying to see into her soul. The difference was that Bonnie thought the dream Damon probably could, and this Damon couldn't.

He was silent for a long time before he spoke up. "It's the Darkness, isn't it?" He asked. His question made Bonnie raise her head to look at him. "It's finally presented itself to you?" Those blue eyes were questioning, and his lips were pursed as he waited for her answer.

A chill went up her spine. How could he possibly know what happened in her head? How could he know the horrible thing? Unless…. unless that was what Damon had been fighting all of this time. "It was…" she began, and then with uncertainty, she trailed off. "It was in me, and on me, and… and I couldn't do anything. It was horrible. I couldn't breathe, I couldn't scream, I couldn't move. It was like I was a guest in my own body." She shivered again at the memory. As much as she didn't want to talk about it, it felt reassuring to tell someone; even if that someone was Damon. She looked up at him, and then looked down as she remembered who was in the dream with her. And the feelings she had. Bonnie was ashamed because she could feel Damon's gaze on her, and it felt as if he knew. Damn him.

Damon leaned back, and slung his arms over the arms of his chair. He was trying to asses her, trying to figure out what was going on in her head. He knew the feelings, of course. He knew the dream. It was the same dream that he had had so many times. The gallows, the people, the darkness that took control of everything. It was something that he fought every day. The nightmare wasn't just in his dreams, it came when he was awake. It offered him all of his deepest desires in exchange for his loyalty. Except the things he really wanted, he could never have because they were gone. They were gone, and nothing could bring them back because nothing could reverse death. Not like this.

He looked Bonnie over. The poor girl was shaking, and he could see tears in her eyes. He could easily remember the first time the darkness showed itself to him. It was long time ago, though; it felt like a hundred years. But it wasn't, really. It had just been a month after the final battle. He could remember it so easily. He and Bonnie were living in a small cabin in the woods because they didn't know what to do. He hated that cabin. It only had one room, and one bed, and Bonnie argued that since he was dead, he could take the couch. Anyway, after he had that first dream he hadn't slept for weeks because he was afraid that it'd come back. He didn't need to be asleep for it to haunt him, though.

The darkness came when he was awake too. He pulled him into a trance like state, and it refused to let him go. It forced him to relive that horrible day over and over. It never went away. The thing was always on the back of his mind. A shiver went up his spine at the thought of it. Every moment he had free of the thing, he tried not to think of it, because that usually triggered the darkness. He focused on Bonnie again, who was still shaking violently. To be honest, he was kind of surprised that it took that long to come to her. She'd always had it inside of her, but it took three years to speak to her.

Damon stood, and went into the kitchen. He could feel Bonnie's eyes following him, but he ignored it. The vampire opened the cabinet above the fridge, and pulled out his hidden bottle of whiskey. He then took two glasses from the sink, and poured some of the golden liquid into them. He figured that Bonnie could use some. He knew that he needed some. It wouldn't get rid of the voices, but it would temporarily numb the pain. And by temporarily he meant a couple of hours and many, many glasses later. Damon went back to the living room, and sat on the couch next to the little witch. He handed her a glass.

She pursed her lips. "I… No, Damon." She said, and he could hear the hesitation in her voice.

He was persistent. "Yes, Bonnie. If anyone ever needed to get so drunk they couldn't see straight, it is you. Now." He held the glass toward her a moment longer before she took it. He watched her until she tipped the glass to her lips, and made a face as the liquid went down her throat. Satisfied, Damon took a drink from his own glass. He couldn't remember the last time him and Bonnie had sat down and talked to each other without throwing insults. It had been forever ago, certainly. It had been even longer than that since they had sat this close together. He didn't know why he was doing it now, just that he knew what the darkness felt like, and how it was worse when no one was close.

The two sat in silence for a long time. How long, he didn't know. They sat, and they drank, and neither made an attempt to make conversation. They were content with how things were going. They were content with having someone around that understood. Eventually, the sun came up, but still, they didn't move. He knew that Bonnie was supposed to be at work, but she didn't mutter a word about it. He understood. It would be hard to be around all of those people, especially with the extra paranoia that the darkness inflicted. So they stayed together. Drunk and sad. Sometimes thinking, and sometimes just staring blankly with nothing on their minds.

They were connected now in a way that they never were before.

_I have need for you, Damon Salvatore… _


	5. Unwanted Visitors

**A/N: First of all, I want to apologize for not updating in a while. I just started back to school after being absent for two months, and the only thing I've been writing are essays. So, it's easy to say that I've kind of got off track with this story, but I'm trying to get back. Anyway, I figured it was time for something big and exciting to happen, so this is where this chapter came from. Enjoy, and review, review, review! **

A knock at the door made Damon and Bonnie both flinch. Damon was sitting in the living room, and Bonnie was standing the kitchen, and their eyes found each other immediately. No one ever knocked on their door unless it was the police. There was once, last year that the police came and tried to take Damon away. He had killed those people, and him and Bonnie hastily drove to another country. Bonnie did not was a repeat of that day, and apparently neither did Damon because neither one of them moved to get the door.

But the knocking kept coming. It was getting louder and louder, beginning to sound more and more impatient. Bonnie looked toward the door, and then back to Damon. Her muscles were ridged. Her mind was racing. They could go out the backdoor, and sneak into the woods. Of course, she didn't know how long those went on, and they could be walking for hours. Then once they were out they would have to steal a car. Plus there was the problem that the police could chase them down. That wouldn't be good in the least bit.

"Open the door Salvatore; I know you're in there!" A voice called from outside of the house.

Bonnie knew that voice. Bonnie didn't like that voice. She met Damon's eyes again, and she could see that he remembered that voice too. And neither of them liked the idea of the owner of that voice was standing on their doorstep. That person brought nothing but trouble. That person was a coward because they ran away before the final battle. See, Bonnie and Damon weren't the only ones that survived that night. There were two others.

The owner of the voice ran before the battle started. They didn't want to die. The other one fought it out. That person stayed with the town until there was nothing left to stay with. Bonnie respected that one. If she had been angry with that one, she might as well be angry with herself and Damon because they did the same thing. It wasn't as if they could all just stay in that town that leaked of bad energy and misery.

"I have all day, you know, so I can wait you out. It's not as if you two can stay in that dump forever." Rebekah hissed.

"Go away, Rebekah, you're not welcome here." Damon called, not rising from where he was seated. Bonnie could see his jaw twitch, and his eyes narrow in anger.

Bonnie could hear Rebekah's sigh from where she was standing. "Wouldn't you like to know about the darkness, Damon? I know I would. I also know that without us, you'll never know how to stop it."

Bonnie flinched, and her eyes met Damon's once again. She was lying. She had to be lying. Could Rebekah and Elijah know how to get rid of the thing that was newly tormenting Bonnie, and had been torturing Damon for years? It was impossible. Damon had been dealing with this forever, and he didn't know how to get rid of it, so there was no way that Rebekah could know. She could see the doubt on Damon's face, but she could also see the glimmer of hope cross through his icy blue eyes.

Did Damon even think that she could be telling the truth? Why would he do that? And more importantly, why would Rebekah even want to help them? She hated them as much as they hated her. Then there was Elijah who hadn't run. He fought alongside Klaus like the valiant warrior he was. It wasn't until everything was said and done that he left with his head held high because he deserved to. He was nothing like his sister. He, Damon, and Bonnie shared a mutual respect for each other. Bonnie, Damon, and Rebekah on the other hand hated each other.

Damon sighed, and he was by her side in a second. He stood behind her, and leaned in to whisper in her ear, obviously trying to keep Rebekah from hearing. "We'll never know unless we try," He told her.

"Is that a chance you want to take?" She whispered back fiercely. "No one knows what she's really up to."

"What if she's telling the truth?"

She spun around, and gave him a disbelieving look. "Since when did you trust Rebekah?"

"I don't!" He said louder than he had meant to, because his eyes looked toward the door before he looked back at Bonnie again. "But I do trust Elijah, and what if they know how to get rid of this? Bonnie, you haven't been dealing with this as long as I have. It only gets worse. This is a chance that I'm willing to take. For my sake and for yours."

She shrunk back, not believing what was coming out of Damon's mouth. Was he telling the truth? Did he actually think that they could help them? Bonnie had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. Damon was willing to take this chance, but was she? Maybe this was her chance to escape from this life. Damon could run off and try to free himself with Rebekah and Elijah, and she could leave. Start her life.

Maybe her job was over. He wouldn't be alone. She remembered the way Rebekah used to look at Damon with lustful eyes. She could take him. Bonnie would be free from this problem. She looked over at Damon who was lost in thought. They could both be free from one another. No more fighting. No more having to live in sucky places with sucky jobs. Bonnie could start collage. She could do everything that she wasn't able to do all of these years because of Damon. She could actually start living.

But she knew that it would never happen. She would have to follow Damon around and protect him because she promised. She could still remember that night so well. It haunted her every night in her dreams. The promise she made to not one, but two people. The promise that she was still keeping. The promise that kept her by Damon's side; caring for him, protecting him. He didn't know about it, but that didn't make it any less real.

_Bonnie held Elena's head in her lap, crying. The tears were running freely down her face. Elena's blood coated her hands. She tried chanting. She tried a spell. Anything that would keep her best friend alive, she would try it. But nothing worked. She didn't have enough magic to save Elena's life, and she really didn't have enough to bring her back from the dead. She hadn't had that much power since the dead witches disowned her. "Please stay with me." She cried, holding Elena's hand tightly. It was cold. She was cold. _

"_Bonnie…" Elena chocked out, blood dribbling out of her mouth. "I love you… you know that right?" Her words didn't come out clearly because her mouth was filled with blood, but Bonnie understood what she was saying, and she nodding, holding back a sob. "Will you keep… keep them safe, Bonnie?" She asked. _

_She didn't need to be told who 'them' were. Caroline was dead. Matt was missing. Jeremy was dead. Alaric was probably dead. That left two. Stefan and Damon. Elena wanted her to keep Stefan and Damon safe. She wanted Bonnie to make sure that they got out of here alive. Together. Bonnie knew that made sense. Stefan would need Damon, and Damon would need Stefan. She could do it. She would run to them. She would make sure that they got out of here alive. She nodded to Elena. "I will, Elena. I promise." More tears. "I love you." _

_Bonnie stayed with her until every bit of life left her body. _

Bonnie winced at the memory. She looked up at Damon, seeing him watching her. She nodded lightly. Whatever he thought. She'd follow him. It would be as if she'd have much of a choice. If Damon wanted to go to the moon, she'd have to follow him because she promised. She failed to save Stefan, she couldn't lose Damon, too. Not after Elena and so many others gave their lives to save him. To save both of them. It would be unfair. It wouldn't be right.

She followed behind Damon to the door. He opened it without looking back at her. Rebekah stood on the other side with Elijah. Once the door opened, Rebekah smiled that smile that was all fox. Elijah just looked miserable. Yeah, well, she knew how he felt. She was sure that they all felt miserable, and anyone who said that didn't was just lying. Bonnie offered him a sad smile, which he nodded to.

"Well, aren't you going to invite us in? It's incredibly rude to make us stand on the door step." Rebekah said.


End file.
